Promotion Trial
by lightningrook
Summary: A Team Rocket agent gets sent to Hoenn with a mission: take out the competition. But, since Team Rocket is trying to be inconspicuous, she's forced to masquerade as a regular newbie trainer starting from Littleroot. Hilarity ensues. Rated M for language and future violence.


**Disclaimer****: I no own the pokeymans or anything affiliated with it. My OCs are mine, though.**

**I still haven't decided whether or not to publish this.**

**Chapter 1**

"...So, if I take this mission, I get promoted, and the promotion is permanent if I succeed?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the Elite in front of me. "What's the catch?"

"For the most part, this is a solo mission, and you'll have to leave the pokémon you've already trained behind," she explained, eyeing me sternly. I scowled, but gave in. "We'll make sure they're well-cared for. We've already made the necessary preparations, and you'll be put on the boat to Hoenn in the morning.

"So, what actually _is_ this mission? Must be big if you're handing out a promotion for it," I remarked. She smirked at me.

"As I'm sure you're aware, we've been trying to gain a foothold in Hoenn for some time now. However, there are already two established teams there, which makes this more difficult. Simply put, we want you to masquerade as a regular newbie trainer – hopefully picking up a starter from the region's professor and maybe even a pokédex if we're lucky – and take out the opposition," she stated, before her smirk grew slightly. "Fortunately for us, they don't seem to be all that smart. It should be a relatively simple matter, especially if you 'ally' yourself with people in Hoenn who are already trying to oust them."

"Sounds fun... well, except for the 'be nice and gain allies' part." I am not a nice person. I've been called a sociopath on more than one occasion. Maybe I am a little, but I'm not _completely_ heartless.

"You're nice to your pokémon," she said, amused. "You're something of a bleeding heart, but I won't deny your methods are effective. Your pokémon are the most loyal here."

"Fair point," I admitted, shooting her a glare for the bleeding heart comment. They believe in using pokémon to get to the top, but I'm just using Team Rocket to get myself (and my pokémon, we're in it together) to the top. I know what I want from life, and this is how I'll get it. "And that'd make them more likely to save me if I got into a tough spot facing the enemy... Speaking of, I get to keep my gun, right?" She shot me a look for a moment, but gave in when I said that since I was training new pokémon from scratch, I might need the gun if push comes to shove and they're not ready yet.

"Good. Now go get your rest. You'll get your stuff in the morning."

"Yes'm."

_Why did I sign up for this again?_ I wondered as the Elite from last night was pulling off a sickening 'mother' act as the boat pulled away.

"Bye honey! I'll miss you! Love you honey, take care and stay focused!" Oh yeah, the promotion.

"Okay mum, I'll miss you too! I promise I'll make you proud okay!" I felt sick playing along with this act, but it was necessary in case any of those secret police bastards were around. Thankfully after that, we were too far apart to have to continue the act, so I just went to my room to go through my stuff and make sure the higher-ups hadn't stiffed me. Sure, the clothes I was wearing were not only of a brand sold in most regions, but pretty high quality travel clothes to boot, durable and versatile. And don't even get me started on the boots. They're made for all climates (I can put extra linings in for the cold) and built to last. I unfolded the DATABAG™ and plugged in the little pocket screen, scanning my fingerprint and entering my password to go over the list of stuff it had packed in it. I had two sets of spare clothes, six sets of underwear, a bandanna, sunglasses, sunscreen and a wrap to protect my head from the sun in the hottest parts of Hoenn, a first-aid kit (for humans), a supply of lip balm, a fire-starting kit, portable stove and fuel, some cooking utensils, some of those nifty filter bottles, a bivouac sack and sleeping bag... okay, I'll stop. Basically everything I needed to live on the road, since pokémon centres aren't always available and I might end up spending days at a time camping out, plus a communications device to give updates. I also had some pokéballs and potions.

Nothing on it had the Rocket logo on it. Ever since that Red kid defeated the boss a few months ago, we've gone underground. The boss basically told us where he was, what he was doing, and gave us our own instructions to be inconspicuous and get rid of every incompetent member by simply letting them think that Giovanni had in fact disappeared and that the team had been disbanded.

Ha, yeah right. As if the boss would let some snot nosed brat put an end to the team he and his mother built up. I heard a couple of idiots hadn't actually gotten the memo that Team Rocket had 'supposedly' disbanded and continued to be all stupid, walking around in uniforms and making trouble. And apparently some of the dead weight idiots that weren't in on the deal had relocated to Johto and were apparently planning to search for Giovanni. Morons.

I scowled, looking around for the people 'Mum' had apparently arranged to pick me up and take me to the backwater town of Littleroot, where this region's 'pokémon professor' resided.

"Excuse me, are you Kakra from Kanto?" a voice asked from my side. I turned to face a slightly mousy-looking woman, mid-forties, with a few laugh lines around her mouth accompanied by a kid that I assumed was hers.

"Yes, ma'am, are you the one my mum arranged to take me to Littleroot?" I asked politely, putting on my nice person mask and willing it to stay in place for the duration of my stay. She and her kid smiled at me.

"Yes, we're moving there. We just got off the boat from Olivine and are waiting for our things to be loaded into the van. My husband has gone on ahead to Petalburg in a car," she explained, indicating the large truck that their furniture and many many boxes were being loaded into. Once they were done, I clambered into the back with the kid (May), and off we went.

Why am I going to Littleroot, you ask? Simple. Not only does Birch hand out starters (and maybe even pokédexes) to people he deems worthy, but he's also the guy you have to go to to get registered as a trainer. Most people contact him over the phone or by email, but since I'm new to the region and therefore don't know his details (that's the story at least) I get to go do it in person. Hopefully I'll be able to get a starter, but if push comes to shove I'll catch a pokémon myself.

Even if I have to beat it into submission with my bare hands. I want that promotion.

The journey was long and very boring, so I typed an update to the Elite to let her know that I'd arrived safely in Hoenn and was en route to my destination and then I engaged in pointless small talk with May, who seemed interested in what Kanto was like, if I'd ever trained pokémon before, what my family was like, etc. I gave her the story 'mother dearest' and I had agreed upon, informed her that yes I had trained pokémon before but hadn't been able to go on a journey because my father had been sick and my mother had been working all hours to make ends meet so I stayed home to help out. It was a total lie, of course. My parents are a couple of drunk drug addicts from Johto. Haven't seen them in years. I told her (honestly, for once) what my pokémon were (a Haunter, Tyranitar, Nidoqueen, Vileplume, Houndoom and Crobat) and that, yes I missed them very much (also true).

Needless to say, I was very relieved when we arrived at long last. Ye gads that kid could talk! When I climbed out of the truck, I wondered how such a shitty place could even be called a town. It was a hamlet, _at best_. It didn't even have a shop for food or supplies! How the fuck did these people live?

"...It has a quaint feel, but it seems to be an easy place to live, don't you think?" Mrs. Maple was saying to her daughter. Easy to live in my arse. Does this shithole even have running water? I got snapped out of my reverie by May dragging me inside the house, which admittedly wasn't too bad, if a little basic. Mrs. Maple continued talking about how much she loved using pokémon moving companies because they were so convenient before sending May up to her room for the sole purpose of setting the clock in her room. After a few moments watching the Vigoroth unpack everything, Mrs. Maple went upstairs to talk with May for whatever reason, so I turned on the TV and looked for something interesting to watch.

"Hey, Mrs. M," I greeted as the lady of the house came back downstairs, before gaping at the screen for a few moments (it was on the news, something about the new Gym Leader for Petalburg) and yelling for May to come see just as she entered the room. As it turned out, May and her mum had missed seeing May's dad, who was the aforementioned Gym Leader.

"Oh, yes. One of your dad's friends lives in town. Professor Birch is his name." My ears perked up at this bit of information. "He lives right next door, so you should go over and introduce yourselves. Oh, and Kakra? I believe he's the one you need to see about registering as a trainer," she added as May and I made for the door. I smiled and thanked her for the information before getting dragged off by the hyperactive ten year old, who simply walked right into the house next door like she owned the place.

"Oh, hello!" greeted the woman sat at the nearby table as May barged in. Doesn't this bother her at all? Hoenn people have no sense, letting people barge into their homes uninvited like that. All the better for Team Rocket. "Who are you two?"

"I'm May Maple, and this is Kakra... um..." May trailed off, realising that she didn't know my surname.

"Kakra Sinclair, nice to meet you, ma'am," I said politely, bowing my head respectfully. It had the desired effect, as the woman smiled at me and introduced herself as Professor Birch's wife before turning back to May.

"We have a son the same age as you! He was excited about making a new friend. I think he's upstairs, you can both go up and see him if you'd like," she told us, pointing us towards the stairwell and directing us to the kid's room. It was a typical boy's room (read: it looked like a bomb had hit it), and it was empty but for the pokéball just sat there on the freaking floor. May, being the curious little thing she is, went over to it and made to pick it up.

"Hey! You... who are you?" a boy in a white hat that looked almost like hair yelled from his place in the doorway, eyeing the two of us suspiciously. Finally, someone with an ounce of common sense in this backwater dump! We introduced ourselves and found out in turn that he was Brendan, eldest son of Professor Birch. "I wasn't expecting a couple of _girls_, I mean," he hastily added after May bristled and the clever boy realised he'd said the wrong thing, "Dad said you were a Gym Leader's kid, so I sort of assumed you'd be a guy," he admitted.

"Never make assumptions, I've gotten in trouble a couple of times for doing just that," I told him, noticing him blush slightly out of embarrassment.

"S-so, uh, do you two have your own pokémon?" he asked us.

"No..." May admitted. "Kakra had some in Kanto, but she left them behind to look after her parents."

"Sweet! What was it like in Kanto? What pokémon did you train? Did you go on a journey?" he asked. "Do you two want me to catch you some pokémon? I don't..." his face suddenly sank. "Aw, darn, I forgot... I'm supposed to be helping Dad catch some pokémon. Uh, we can hang out some other time, okay?" And with that, he was gone.

"Are all ten year olds this hyper?" I asked Brendan's mother once we made it back to the living room. She chuckled, amused, and nodded. "Uh, do you know where your husband is? I need to register with him as a trainer."

"Oh, I think he's just outside of town, catching some pokémon for his research," she told me, giving both May and I (May wanted to see the Prof in person) the directions that we really didn't need to find him. There was a little girl stood with her back to us as we approached Route 101, and the moment she heard us coming, she pretty much begged us to go check out what was making the 'scary pokémon' act up.

"Help me!" yelled a guy in a lab coat who was being chased around by some brown spiky things with black mask-like marking on its face. "Hello! You two over there! Please! Help! In my bag! There's some pokéballs!" May was over there in a flash, grabbing the ball labelled 'Mudkip' and gesturing for me to pick one of the remaining two balls. I picked up the Torchic's ball and let it out.

The battle that followed was truly epic, the four of us (counting the pokémon) against the three fiendish wild pokémon (that were apparently called Zigzagoon, according to lab coat guy, who had retreated to a safe distance behind us) that sought vengeance for whatever slight Lab Coat Guy had perpetrated against them. He seemed to be a clueless idiot, but since I was under the impression that he was one of Professor Birch's aides, it'd be a pretty stupid idea to be rude to him. I needed to butter him up so he'd put in a good word for me. Anyway, we won. I am embarrassed to admit that once the battle was done, I picked up the Torchic and hugged it, showering it was lots of praise and telling it what a good pokémon it was. It didn't seem to be complaining, though. After a moment, I calmed down and turned my attention to Lab Coat Guy.

"Whew... I was in the tall grass studying the pokémon when I got jumped... Thanks for saving me, you two," he said, before his brow furrowed for a moment. "You must be Norman's daughter! May, was it?" May nodded. "And I don't believe I know who you are, Miss...?"

"Kakra Sinclair, sir. I'm here to register as a trainer," I explained. "May's family gave me a ride here from Slateport."

"Oh, I see. This isn't really the time or place to be chatting, so you two should come over to my lab," he told us, leading us back to the town, while I mentally did a spittake. _This moron was Professor Birch_? Do they seriously just let anyone become a pokémon professor these days?!

"So, I've heard a lot about both of you from your father, May. If what I'm told is correct, neither of you have your own pokémon at present, correct?" he asked us both. We nodded in agreement. "But the both of you pulled off that battle earlier with aplomb. You're truly your father's daughter, May. As thanks for rescuing me, the two of you are welcome to keep the pokémon you battled with earlier. They seem to have taken quite a shine to you both. While we're on the topic, do you want to give them nicknames?"

"Hmm... Is Torchic male or female?" I asked him.

"Both your pokémon are male, Kakra."

"Ignis, then," I decided. "May, how about you?"

"I think I'll call him... Myron," she said. "I like that name."

"May, I think you have plenty of potential. Work together with Myron and gain experience, and I'm sure you'll become a great trainer," Birch smiled. "Kakra, I'm told you've already got some experience in training pokémon, but had to leave them behind to look after your family, am I right?" I nodded. "I'm sure that with a friend like you to help her out, May will reach her full potential." Oh hell no. Is he expecting me to babysit this kid? Well, he's right about her having potential. Maybe I could recruit her. It all depends on whether or not she's got the mindset. "...my son, Brendan is also studying pokémon out on the field. Maybe you should go see him? It'd be great if the two of you made friends, May." Is it me or does the good professor have a certain glint reminiscent of a matchmaking old woman in his eyes?

"Go see Brendan? Sure, why not," I accepted before May could protest.

"Great! He should be able to give you some pointers about being a trainer on the road, since neither of you have been on a journey with pokémon before." That's what _he_ thinks. Sure, I've never done a League challenge before, but it's not like I've never been out in the wilderness all by myself before. Part of Rocket's training program includes surviving by oneself in the wild and what you need to take care of yourself. "He should be north of Oldale Town, it shouldn't be too hard to find him." We both gratefully thanked Professor Birch for his time and our pokémon and trainer cards, and left town, letting out our pokémon for a bit and bonding with them a little by way of battling the local pokémon.

"May? Is it alright if you go see Brendan on your own once we reach Oldale Town? I'm not abandoning you or anything," I added hastily at her crestfallen expression. "I just need to buy some stuff and send an email on the pokémon centre's computer. I promise I'll wait for you until you come back, okay?" She perked up and nodded, satisfied that I wasn't about to ditch her.

Our conversation was then interrupted by a Poochyena leaping out at us. Having agreed that we'd take it in turns defeating any wild pokémon that crossed us, Ignis went to town scratching them until they fainted. He'd grown a couple of levels to learn Focus Energy, and May's Mudkip had learned Mud Slap.

Route 101 was an extremely short route, though, so we pretty much split up once we reached Oldale's pokémon centre and May had healed up. I picked up a few extra potions at the Mart, though they were out of pokéballs.

Once that was taken care of, though, I accessed the pokémon centre's public computer and began typing an email:

_Currently in Oldale. Have acquired starter (Torchic) from Professor Birch and registered as a trainer._

A couple of minutes later:

_**Good. Keep us updated on your progress. We will be sending you items to your trainer account when we deem it prudent.**_

_Understood. Have to go now, am expecting company._

I checked the time, and decided to wait a while outside the pokémon centre drinking a soda that the local Nurse Joy gave me.

"Kakra!" I turned around to see Brendan coming, closely followed by my quarry, one May Maple.

"Hey, kiddos." They both scowled at my calling them that. I laughed. "So, what's next?" I asked.

"We're heading back to the lab to see my dad now," Brendan said.

"Hey, Kakra, guess what! I beat Brendan in a pokémon battle!" May told me, plainly overjoyed by her victory. Brendan flushed slightly but did not deny it. At least he's graceful loser.

"Good going, May! Hopefully it'll be the first of many victories," I praised her. The walk back was pretty much just as uneventful as the journey to Oldale had been in the first place.

"...So, you beat Brendan on your first try, May. That's excellent! He's been helping me with my research for quite some time now, so he has quite a history as a trainer already." Seriously? He must be completely pathetic if he could be beaten by a virtually untrained starter pokémon on its first day with its trainer. Birch paused for a moment, looking long and hard at the two of us. "I ordered these to help with my research originally, but I think you two should have these pokédexes instead." YES. We've been wanting to get our hands on a 'dex for ages, ever since they were invented. The scientists have their own ideas about improvements that could be made to benefit the work of Team Rocket.

May and I both profusely thanked the good professor for the device, and listened intently (okay, maybe that was just me) to his explanation on what it did, how it worked and general maintenance of the pokédex, handing us each a repair kit and manual. It was like a dream come true. I didn't even have to do anything for it. Brendan seemed pretty happy about the two of us having pokédexes and gifted us with five pokéballs each.

"Here, take these. It's more fun to have a bunch of pokémon." True. "I'm going to go explore to find lots of different pokémon and catch them to fill my pokédex. You do the same, okay?"

"Yeah!" May punched the air enthusiastically. "This'll be fun, Kakra! Our very own adventure." Oh, joy. Just what I wanted. Not that I have anything against the kid, but I have a feeling this mission will be a lot harder now that I have a god damn tagalong. We got caught leaving town by May's mother, who I secretly hoped would tell May to stay home, but no such luck. She gifted May with a set of running shoes and told her to 'go get 'em!'

I hate my life sometimes. I hate it so much.

**A/N****: So, there you have it. The end of the first chapter of my first ever Pokémon fanfic.**

**Kakra's BIO:**

**Name: Kakra Sinclair**

**Age: 16**

**Gender: Female**

**Orientation: Heterosexual**

**Marital status: Single**

**Height: 5' 2''**

**Weight: 110 pounds (7st 12) (just under 50 kilos)**

**Blood type: O**

**Eye colour: Dark indigo**

**Hair colour: Platinum blonde**

**Hair length: Small of back**

**Hair style: Normally a Gibson tuck or other easy hairdo**

**Face shape: Heart**

**Eye shape: Catlike**

**Lips: Bottom lip slightly fuller than top lip**

**Build: Slender, slightly muscled**

**Skin: Pale**

**Alignment: Team Rocket**

**Rank: Agent**

**Personality: Somewhat cold and ruthless. Doesn't care who she has to kill as long as she's not attached to them or they're not kids. Slightly sociopathic as she has a seriously skewed moral compass (or rather, she knows what she's doing is wrong but doesn't care). Not very social. Doesn't care about using people. Completely remorseless. Has no problem lying to people no matter how much she likes them. Most of the personality others see is just an act she puts on. Very secretive. Essentially, she's doing everything she can to keep herself alive for as long as possible.**

**Best traits: Loyal to people she's attached to. Intelligent. Strong willed. Pragmatic. Common sense. Patient. Adaptable. **

**Worst traits: Antisocial. Stubborn. Smart-ass. Paranoid. Finicky. Gluttonous. Callous. Cruel. Deceitful. Materialistic. Ruthless. Extremely vengeful.**


End file.
